AT&T Stadium

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Lore & Background

The stadium is widely referred to as Jerry World after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, who originally envisioned it as a large entertainment venue. The stadium seats 80,000 people, but can be reconfigured to hold over 100,000 people by the use of standing room, making it the largest stadium in the NFL by seating capacity. Additional attendance is made possible by the Party Pass (open areas) sections behind the seats in each end zone that are positioned on a series of six elevated platforms connected by stairways. The record attendance for an NFL regular season game was set in 2009 with a crowd of 105,121. It also has twin video boards that are among the top 100 largest high-definition video screens in the world.

In Their Own Story

In October 2006, Jerry Jones unveiled the in-depth designs to the public on December 12, revealing a stadium with a retractable roof that could look like its predecessor's "hole" when open but cover against the elements. The structural work moved quickly; two nearly 300-foot-tall steel arches were completed by February 2008, anchoring one of the world's tallest domes. By June 2008, Jones commissioned what was then the world's largest 1080p HDTV to hang above the field. The artificial turf, installed in July 2009 by Hellas Construction using a special SoftTop Convertible system with 26 interchangeable panels, allowed for rapid conversions from football to dirt bike races or basketball. On September 20, 2009, the Cowboys played their first regular-season home game here, setting an NFL regular season attendance record of 105,121 just that year. The name "Cowboys Stadium" was announced by Jones on May 13, 2009, before changing to AT&T Stadium in July 2013 following a naming rights deal.

Reader's Guide

Originally estimated at $650 million, the stadium's actual construction cost rose to $1.15 billion, making it one of the most expensive sports venues ever built. To aid Cowboys owner and general manager, Jerry Jones, in paying the construction costs of the new stadium, Arlington voters approved the increase of the city's sales tax by 0.5%, the hotel occupancy tax by 2%, and car rental tax by 5%. The City of Arlington provided over $325 million (including interest) in bonds as funding, and Jones covered any cost overruns. The NFL provided the Cowboys with an additional $150 million loan, following its policy for facilitating financing for the construction of new stadiums. The lead architect on the design team at HKS Architects for the project was Bryan Trubey, who has stated that the overarching concept for the stadium was '...that this should not be just a stadium, but should almost be built like a civic structure.' A pair of nearly 300 ft (91 m)-tall arches spans the length of the stadium dome (one of the tallest domes in the world), anchored to the ground at each end. The new stadium also includes 'more than 3,000 Sony LCD screens throughout the luxury suites, concourses, concession areas and more, offering fans viewing options that extend beyond the action on the field'. It also houses a center-hung Mitsubishi video display board that was the largest HDTV screen in the world at the time of its installation. It has since been surpassed in size by the Panasonic 'Big Hoss' video board (218 feet (66 m) wide and 94.6 feet (28.8 m) tall) at Texas Motor Speedway. Glass doors, allowing each end zone to be opened, were designed and constructed by Dallas-based Haley-Greer glass systems. The retractable roof was designed by structural engineering firm Walter P Moore and the systems were implemented by mechanization consultants Uni-Systems. The electrification of Cowboys Stadium's retractable roof was developed by VAHLE, Inc. These kinetic architecture fundamentals are employed to create quick conversions of the facility to accommodate a variety of events. When the design was officially unveiled on December 12, 2006, it showed that from inside the stadium, the roof (membrane installed by K Post Company of Dallas) would look very similar to the Texas Stadium roof, with its trademark hole. However, it can be covered by the retractable roof panel to protect against the

Did You Know?

• The stadium's record attendance for an NFL regular season game was set in 2009 with a crowd of 105,121.
• The stadium was one of 11 US venues that hosted matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
• The center-hung Mitsubishi video display board was the largest HDTV screen in the world at the time of its installation.
• The stadium's retractable roof was designed by structural engineering firm Walter P Moore and the systems were implemented by mechanization consultants Uni-Systems.